The Chattanooga Mocs men's basketball team used another dominating second-half effort on both sides of the floor to notch its third-straight victory after defeating Gardner-Webb 82-71 inside Paul Porter Arena on Saturday afternoon in Boiling Springs, N.C.
Following the win, Chattanooga improves to 5-3 on the season and has successfully eliminated a halftime deficit in each of its last three wins. Gardner-Webb falls to 2-6 after the defeat in its home opener of the 2022-23 season.
Trailing 39-38 at halftime, UTC out-scored GWU 44-32 in the second half and limited the Runnin' Bulldogs to a 27.3% (9-of-33) mark from the field including a 18.2% (2-of-11) tally from three during that span.
"I'm just really proud of our guys.
I have a ton of respect for Gardner-Webb and what they've done over the recent years, Coach [Tim] Craft does a fantastic job … we had a lot of guys contribute today," said head coach Dan Earl.
"Overall, anytime you can get a road win is big, especially over a good team like Gardner-Webb. It's great to have a response in the second half, I just can't put my finger on exactly why that's happened the last two times out, but it's great when we respond."
Jake Stephens led all scorers with 27 points, his third-straight game with 26 or more, and nearly missed his fifth double-double of the season behind a nine-rebound effort while also adding a season-high five blocks. Dalvin White (12) and Jamaal Walker (10) each reached double figures with White pacing the offense with a game-high five assists.
Both teams opened the game scoring at a high clip as Gardner-Webb claimed a 10-9 lead (15:12) at the first media timeout following a four-of-five start from the field. White provided a spark on offense with five quick points to give UTC a 17-14 (11:45) edge near halfway through the first.
Randy Brady knocked down a high-arching three to break a tie and allow the Mocs to gain a 22-19 (9:21) before the Runnin' Bulldogs knocked down four-straight from the field to pull back in front 28-26 (5:36). Demetrius Davis hit a corner three at the first half buzzer to send UTC into the locker room down a point, 39-38.
AJ Caldwell and White each nailed threes at the top of the key early in the second half to flip the one-point edge in favor of the visitors, 47-46 (15:09). The Mocs continued to apply the defensive pressure over the next few minutes and scored five of the next seven to capture its biggest lead of the game at four, 52-48 (11:49).
Brody Robinson entered the three-point chat with the deepest of the game from either team to extend the lead to seven, 57-50 (11:22), before the advantage grew to double digits at 11, 65-54 (8:39), on back-to-back treys from Stephens and Jamal Johnson.
Chattanooga went up 71-59 with 4:21 left in the game before hitting a scoring drought that lasted three-plus minutes to allow Gardner-Webb to cut the deficit to seven, 71-64 (1:26). That would be the closest the hosts would get down the stretch as UTC capped off the 82-71 road victory.